Method for positioning two components using tack welds crossing the joint line

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method for positioning two components to be joined to each other along a common joint line. According to the invention, the two components are connected to each other by limited-length tack welds firmly connecting the two components, particularly by way of bonding, to each other. In order to obtain reliable and robust positioning of the components for tacking during the joining process, without requiring extensive production apparatuses, such as is required for the high-precision setting of the focal point of the welding laser relative to the joint line, the tack welds are designed such that they cross the joint line.

PRIOR ART

The invention is based on a method for positioning two components, to be connected to one another along a common joint line, as generically defined by the preamble to claim 1.

Components that are to be connected to one another, for instance by soldering, must be positioned positionally correctly to one another for the connection process—also called the joining process—and the positioning must be maintained during the joining process. The precision and durability of the positioning and the gap between the components to be joined along the joint line are of decisive significance, particularly in the automated joining process, for a high-quality outcome of the process.

It is known for metal components to be joined together by soldering, for instance, components that have no form lock with one another, to be tacked by welding methods, such as laser welding or hand-guided TIG welding. Short weld seams are created along the joint line, in the form of fillet welds or I seams. The provision of individual manually made weld spots along the joint line is also known. As a rule, fillet welds in particular are subject to stringent demands in terms of the positioning of the laser beam. For the laser positioning, complicated tactile or imaging systems are presently used, which—because they are tailored to the specific component geometry and surface structure of the parts to be joined—cannot be used universally for laser positioning, or in other words for high-precision adjustment of the focal point and of the focal position/introduction position of the laser beam.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The method according to the invention for positioning the components, having the characteristics of the claim has the advantage that because of how the tack welds are embodied according to the invention, in such a way that they cross the joint line at least once; that is, they intersect the joint line at an angle that is other zero, reliable tacking between the components to be joined is produced, without having to make stringent demands in terms of the positioning of the welding laser or of the adjustment of the focal point of the welding laser with regard to the joint line. Moreover, existing joining gaps between the components are bridged quite well by the tack welds.

By means of the provisions recited in the further claims, advantageous refinements of and improvements to the method defined by claim 1 are possible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is described in further detail in the ensuing description in terms of exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings. In the drawings:

FIGS. 1 through 3 show a perspective view of two platelike components to be joined together, with various embodiments of the tack welds for positioning them;

FIGS. 4 and 5, each in a detail, show the same view as in FIGS. 1 through 3, with two further embodiments of the tack welds.

In FIG. 1, two metal plates 11, 12 of different sizes are shown, which rest on one another and are to be connected to one another by hard soldering in material-locking fashion, or in other words joined. The hard soldering process is done in an automated way and necessitates precise positioning of the two plates 10, 11 relative to one another, and this positioning must be maintaining unchanged throughout the entire soldering process. The joint line, as a visible boundary of the joining face at which the two platelike components 11, 12 are to be soldered together is marked 13. For the hard soldering process, the two components 11, 12 are placed on one another in a precise position, and this positioning is fixed by the creation of tack welds 14 in such a way that it remains unchanged during the entire joining process. To that end, the tack welds 14, which are of limited length and are created by means of a welding laser as weld seams, are embodied in such a way that they cross the joint line 13. The crossing angle can be selected arbitrarily from an angular range between 90° and >0°. Preferably, to create the weld seams, the known process of remote welding is employed, with which a very high processing speed can be achieved. As shown in FIG. 1, the tack welds 14 are preferably made in groups, in spaced-apart regions of the joint line 13. Each tack weld 14 has two legs 141, 142, of which one leg 141 extends in the component 11, and the other leg 142 extends in the component 12. The two legs 141, 142 are oriented in such a way that they are located in one plane. However, one leg may also be placed counter to the plane, as is shown in FIG. 1 for the tack welds 14 disposed in the lateral region (hence the legs 142 are shown). In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, as an example three tack welds 14 are present in each group, and extend parallel to one another at a slight spacing from one another.

With platelike components 11, 12 of equal size, as are shown in FIGS. 2 through 5, the tack welds 14 are made at the face ends of the components 11, 12. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2, the tacking operations are done such that the tack welds 14 cross the joint line 13 at an angle of 45°. The tack welds 14 are embodied rectilinearly, and one weld portion 141′ extends within the component 11, and one weld portion 142′ extends within the component 12.

Instead of the rectilinear embodiment of the tack welds 14, they may also be embodied in curved form, as is shown in FIG. 3. The curved shape is arbitrary and may for instance be an open or closed circular arc. Also in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3, in each group in each of the spaced-apart regions of the joint lines 13, three tack welds 14, for instance, are provided, which have been made with slight spacing and separately from one another, extending beyond the joint line 13 into the face ends of the two components 11, 12.

In the exemplary embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 5, the tack welds 14, in the spaced-apart regions of the joint line 13, are embodied as a cohesive line, which in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 4 forms a zigzag line and in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 5 forms a sinusoidal wavy line.

It is understood that the method of the invention for positioning components is not limited to platelike components. For instance, hollow-cylindrical components, which with their cylinder axes stand vertically to one another, can be fixed to one another by way of the tack welds 14 in the various embodiments described.

The type of tacking is not limited to the production of weld seams as tack welds in metal components. Similar tack welds can also be used for fixing components before the thermal hardening of adhesive bonds that are employed for joining the components. 

1-8. (canceled)
 9. A method for positioning two components, which are to be connected to one another along a common joint line, in which method has the steps of: fixing the two components to one another by limited-length tack welds that connect the two components solidly to one another, in particular in material-locking fashion; and embodying the tack welds such that they cross the common joint line.
 10. The method as defined by claim 9, wherein the angle at which the tack welds cross the common joint line is selected from an angular range between 90° and >0°.
 11. The method as defined by claim 9, wherein the tack welds are made in groups in regions of the common joint line that are spaced apart from one another.
 12. The method as defined by claim 10, wherein the tack welds are made in groups in regions of the common joint line that are spaced apart from one another.
 13. The method as defined by claim 11, wherein the tack welds of one group are made parallel to one another, with a slight spacing from one another.
 14. The method as defined by claim 12, wherein the tack welds of one group are made parallel to one another, with a slight spacing from one another.
 15. The method as defined by claim 13, wherein the tack welds are embodied as straight or curved individual lines.
 16. The method as defined by claim 14, wherein the tack welds are embodied as straight or curved individual lines.
 17. The method as defined by claim 11, wherein the tack welds of one group are joined together and are embodied as a zigzag or wavy line.
 18. The method as defined by claim 12, wherein the tack welds of one group are joined together and are embodied as a zigzag or wavy line.
 19. The method as defined by claim 9, wherein the components are made of metal, and the tack welds are embodied as weld seams.
 20. The method as defined by claim 10, wherein the components are made of metal, and the tack welds are embodied as weld seams.
 21. The method as defined by claim 11, wherein the components are made of metal, and the tack welds are embodied as weld seams.
 22. The method as defined by claim 13, wherein the components are made of metal, and the tack welds are embodied as weld seams.
 23. The method as defined by claim 15, wherein the components are made of metal, and the tack welds are embodied as weld seams.
 24. The method as defined by claim 17, wherein the components are made of metal, and the tack welds are embodied as weld seams.
 25. The method as defined by claim 19, wherein the weld seams are created by remote welding.
 26. The method as defined by claim 10, wherein the weld seams are created by remote welding.
 27. The method as defined by claim 16, wherein the weld seams are created by remote welding.
 28. The method as defined by claim 18, wherein the weld seams are created by remote welding. 